Newark Looking To End Their Pit Bull Ban, Continues A Trend If It Gets Repealed

Pit bull bans, as a trend, have seemingly been moving towards abolition. However, even in cases where a neighboring locale rescinded or amended its ban, some refuse. In Louisiana, as reported by the Inquisitr, the town of Moreauville repealed their ban due to a therapy dog named Zeus. However, places like St. Francisville, and others in Louisiana, have yet to look into their own pit bull bans.

In Newark, New Jersey, the pit bull ban that is in place a “Good Citizenship Test.” It stated that owning a pit bull must be “automatically designated a ‘vicious’ dog,” but allowed after “passing the test that requires the pit to be friendly with strange animals, and can sit or stay on command.”

In Newark, Ohio, things were not too much different.

The law in Ohio some added restrictions. The city law automatically listed pit bulls as vicious dogs and required owners to buy special insurance, expensive dog tags for their pets, microchip them, muzzle in public, restrain them by chain-link tether, fence or enclosure, and limit pit bull owners to possessing one pit bull. The city of Newark “compromised” and removed the automatic vicious dog designation.

On Tuesday, pit bull owners and supporters packed the city council meeting to discuss the pit bull ordinance, even though it was in fact not on the docket for the meeting. According to the Newark Advocate, those who attended said the breed specific legislation needed to be repealed entirely. They explained that it was costly, ineffective, and discriminatory. A vocal opponent to the pit bull ordinance, Rhonda Loomis, said “responsible dog owners don’t need the extra restrictions.”

“It’s time to repeal a law that’s no longer relevant. I just don’t believe the law stops a bad dog from biting any more than a restraining order stops a person bent on killing their spouse.”

One councilman has agreed to sponsor a repeal on the ban. Councilman Jeff Rath is expected to propose the repeal Monday. He believes that the pit bull ordinance has had its chance to prove its worth, but ultimately has been seen as a failure.

“Our safety forces have had an opportunity to see the (current) law in effect… and I think that they’ve all realized it has no effect. All it’s really doing is causing a huge hassle and a huge expense, both to the city for enforcing the law as well as to the residents of Newark who want to keep their pet.”

According to 10 TV News, Rath also stated that there was strong support from the council remove the BSL that restricts pit bulls in Newark, Ohio.